Manage Nameservers for Enom Domains

Nameservers are a crucial part of the Domain Name System (DNS) that links the internet together. DNS works like a phone book that lets your computer look up the IP address of other computers, usually web servers. When you type an address such as www.google.com into your web browser, your computer uses nameservers to look up the IP address of the Google web server, then contacts that server to request the web page. Nameservers let the rest of the world know where to find a website or deliver a domain's email. This article explains how to update, check, and manage nameservers, and how DNS propagation affects changes.

Updating nameservers

You can change nameservers in an Enom account or through the access.enom.com portal if a domain access password has been set up. Before making the change, copy the host records from the current nameservers to keep your website or email service active.

1. Log in to your account.
2. Select Domains at the top of the website, then choose My domains from the dropdown.
3. Click the domain name text, not the checkbox next to it.
4. Select DNS server settings, or choose DNS server settings from the Manage domain dropdown.
5. In DNS Server Settings, choose either Our servers or Customto use third-party nameservers.
   note

   Note: To manage your domain's host records at Enom, choose Our servers. If you select Custom, you must manage the host records at the third-party provider.

Checking current nameservers

It is best to use the registry Whois lookup to find a domain's nameservers, as this is the authoritative source for the TLD. You can also use a website such as G Suite Toolbox Dig or digwebinterface.com to find the nameservers. Enter the naked domain name in the search. For example, for www.enomdomains.com, search enomdomains.com. The nameservers for enomdomains.com are the default Enom nameservers.

Managing custom nameservers

If you have the domain enomdomains.com registered at Enom and want to set up the nameservers ns1.enomdomains.com and ns2.enomdomains.com, you must create these nameservers with glue records. Glue records are IP addresses that allow domains to use themselves as authoritative nameservers.

Setting up nameservers based on your domain is an advanced step and unnecessary for most people. For most users, changing the nameservers to the web host's nameservers or using Enom's default nameservers is sufficient.

Registering new nameservers

Before using a nameserver based on your registered domain, you must inform the registry of its name and IP by registering it.

1. Sign in to your account.

2. Click the Domains menu, then Advanced tools, then choose Register a name server.
3. Locate the section labeled Register a new name server.
4. Enter the new nameserver's hostname and IP into the fields.
5. Click Register name server.

Checking nameserver status and IP

You can check the status of an existing nameserver for one of your domains.

1. Sign in to your account.
2. Click the Domains menu, then Advanced tools, then choose Register a name server.
3. Locate the section labeled Check the status of a name server.
4. Enter the nameserver's name and click Check name server.
   note

   Note: Only a few TLDs, such as .COM and .NET, return the IP address as part of a status check.

Updating nameserver IPs

Updating the IP address of an existing nameserver for one of your domains requires its name, the current IP, and the new IP.

1. Sign in to your account.

2. Click the Domains menu, then Advanced tools, then choose Register a name server.
3. Locate the section labeled Update a name server.
4. Enter the nameserver's name, current IP, and new IP into the fields provided.
5. Click Update name server.

Deleting nameservers

Where allowed by the registry, you can delete nameservers based on one of your domains. Most registries do not allow deleting a nameserver that is being used or was recently used by a domain, so nameserver deletion does not commonly succeed. You can still take a nameserver out of operation by removing it from any attached domains. When out of operation long enough, registries typically remove nameservers on their own.

1. Sign in to your account.
2. Click the Domains menu, then Advanced tools, then choose Register a name server.
3. Locate the section labeled Delete a name server.
4. Enter the nameserver's name, then click Delete name server.

Understanding DNS propagation

The DNS is decentralized and globally distributed, so no single company controls it. Propagation time is the period between updating a domain's nameservers or other records and every other server on the internet updating its cache of records related to the domain. This delay is typically 24 to 48 hours, but it can take much less or much more time.

During propagation, you may see the previous or new records active, as some DNS servers update their cache earlier than others. There is no way to speed up propagation, as it relies entirely on third-party servers — often your local ISP — updating their cache in a timely fashion. Enom recommends an hourly cache update, but some ISPs ignore this recommendation, which causes propagation to take longer.

If you do not see the change to your domain after an update, try switching to a different network. For example, if you have been checking a site from your home network (via WiFi or ethernet), you may be able to use your phone to see the changes over the cellular data network (not WiFi).

You can use sites such as the DNS Checker to see how far the changes have propagated.

Default Enom nameservers

Enom provides free nameservers for domains registered at Enom. Choose "Our servers" in a domain's DNS server settings to have the domain use Enom's default nameservers.

Next steps

• Managing DNS host records
• Managing DNSSEC

Questions? Contact Enom Support.